Britain’s Got Talent finalist Simonne Samantha Kerr has died at age 31 after being stabbed to death in London, Metropolitan police confirm.
According to the department, law enforcement officials were called to a residential address at Grayshott Road in Battersea just after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 15. Kerr was found with a stab injury and pronounced dead at the scene.
On Thursday, August 16, 40-year-old Desmond Slyva was charged with her murder. He appeared at Wimbledon magistrates court on Friday, August 17, where The Guardian reports that he did not enter a plea. Police are not investigating any additional suspects at this time.
Kerr performed on the show April as a member of NHS choir group B Positive, which is made up of vocalists aged 22 to 62 who either have sickle cell anemia or have loved ones with sickle cell anemia.
The group’s performance of “Rise Up” had judges, including Simon Cowell, in tears. Though they made it through to the show’s finale in June as the chosen Wild Card Act, they were ultimately bested by Lost Voice Guy.
Kerr, a hematology and oncology nurse, joined the group in 2015 after her 6-year-old son, Kavele, died from the disease.
She shared her story on the NHS blog, writing, “I got to spend six wonderful years watching Kavele grow and though there were a handful of hospitalizations in his short life, I was positive that he would live a full life into adulthood. I lost him in 2015 … Singing can be such an uplifting experience so joining the B Positive choir seemed the obvious way to raise awareness of the urgent need for more young and black people to give blood while doing something positive and motivational.”
Following the news of her death, a Britain’s Got Talent spokesperson gave a statement to the Huffington Post:“We are deeply saddened and shocked to hear that Simonne Kerr has died. Our thoughts and condolences are with Simonne’s family and friends during this difficult and devastating time.”
